IWA – OUTDOOR CLASSIC 2025

The IWA Outdoor Classics in Nuremberg has been an integral part of the annual planning for many trade visitors from the firearms, hunting, airsoft, and paintball sectors for years. In recent years, however, paintball has been relatively quiet at the IWA. This year's surprise was all the more pleasing: Paintball was represented at the trade fair with its own segment and three major exhibitors! We were there for you, gathered fascinating impressions, and brought back some great photos. Enjoy our report from IWA 2025!

Anyone who has attended the IWA Outdoor Classics as a trade visitor in recent years will have noticed that paintball has become a rarified presence. While one could marvel at the latest T4E home defense and MagFed weapons at the Umarex booth and discover a few pieces of equipment and accessories in the surrounding halls, the authentic paintball feeling no longer really emerged. Ever since well-known brands like GI Sportz, Valken, and Virtue were no longer represented at the trade fair, paintball had lost its presence at the IWA.

One reason for this was certainly the coronavirus pandemic, which posed major challenges to the entire industry. The difficult market situation and distribution also played a role. Brands like Virtue and Valken, which previously operated their own warehouses in Europe and supplied the entire continent from there, are now barely represented in Europe. Their distribution centers now serve only as transshipment points, which means that these brands' once active market presence has almost completely disappeared. Another turning point was Brexit, which virtually excluded the UK-based company GI Sportz Europe (now KORE Outdoor) from the European market. All of these developments led to paintball being almost completely sidelined at IWA over the past four to five years. However, the officials at Messe Nürnberg wanted to change that for 2025 and once again offer paintball a dedicated segment at the trade fair. The young IWA team, which is already responsible for the airsoft exhibitors on site, therefore met with various paintball brands and distributors to plan a relaunch for paintball at IWA. After intensive negotiations over the winter, three exhibitors were finally able to participate in an initial test run, presenting their products to the interested trade audience.

The largest exhibition space within the new paintball segment was occupied by KORE Outdoor from England, which brings together the Tippmann, Empire, and JT Paintball brands under one roof. Here, visitors could discover a wide selection of products from the well-known ranges of these traditional brands. Directly adjacent, Massive Entertainment, known in Europe as DLX Europe, presented its SP (Shocker Paintball), DLX Luxe, and Smart Parts FREAK brands. The latest Shocker and Luxe markers, as well as the tried-and-tested FREAK barrel systems, were particularly popular here. ME also acts as the official German distributor for Tomahawk paintballs, which were also exhibited on site. The third brand in the new IWA paintball area was PowAir, which presented its extensive range of high-quality HPA systems and accessories. Thus, the paintball offering at IWA 2025 was small, but of high quality – a first step in the right direction. We hope that in the coming years more manufacturers and brands will jump on the bandwagon and that paintball will once again find a permanent place at the IWA.

The paintball exhibition area was strategically integrated into Hall 8, which traditionally houses the airsoft exhibitors. This consolidation created interesting synergies, as many manufacturers offer products for both sports. For example, KORE's JT masks also aroused considerable interest among airsoft players, while PowAir's HPA systems attracted considerable interest – as the use of HPA technology is becoming increasingly important in airsoft sports. Naturally, the industry's biggest names were also present. Umarex presented its T4E range as well as authentic replica weapons for the MagFed paintball and airsoft markets. One of the most exciting new products of the year was Umarex's first marker specifically developed for MagFed paintball: the T4E TC68. This new MagFed weapon features a 20-round magazine for first strikes and round balls and is offered in various air stock variants that can be operated with either HPA or CO₂.

That was our report on IWA 2025. We will continue to closely monitor the paintball segment of the trade fair and hope to see it grow further in the coming years. For anyone who wants to know more, we have posted an informative video on our YouTube channel – check it out.
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